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frankfortstation.com life & arts<br />
the frankfort station | September 13, 2018 | 21<br />
Frankfort native, cancer patient connect through dress donation<br />
Nuria Mathog, Editor<br />
Despite living nearly 500<br />
miles apart, Frankfort native<br />
Jessica Leja and Lebanon,<br />
Tenn. resident Toni Roberts<br />
have forged a special bond<br />
through a unique act of generosity<br />
and a shared camaraderie<br />
in the fight against<br />
cancer.<br />
Leja, a current New Lenox<br />
resident who works as an<br />
oncology nurse at DuPage<br />
Medical Group in Tinley<br />
Park, was inspired to donate<br />
her unaltered size 10<br />
Stella York wedding dress<br />
to a deserving cancer patient<br />
after seeing the strength and<br />
perseverance of the patients<br />
she worked with on a daily<br />
basis.<br />
In June, Leja reached<br />
out to several local media<br />
outlets, including The<br />
Frankfort Station, to share<br />
her story, explaining she<br />
knew the dress was "made<br />
for a special bride" and she<br />
hoped to find her by spreading<br />
the word.<br />
That's how she met Toni<br />
Roberts.<br />
Roberts, who works for<br />
the state of Tennessee's department<br />
of intellectual and<br />
development disabilities,<br />
was diagnosed with breast<br />
cancer in August 2017 and<br />
has been undergoing treatment<br />
ever since. Her secondto-last<br />
treatment took place<br />
in August 2018, and she has<br />
one final treatment on the<br />
way.<br />
Earlier this summer, Roberts<br />
learned about Leja's offer<br />
to donate the dress after<br />
an oncology nurse she knew<br />
tagged her in a post Leja had<br />
made on Facebook. After<br />
reading about Leja in the related<br />
article, she decided to<br />
contact her.<br />
Roberts said she didn't<br />
expect to get a response to<br />
her message, since she figured<br />
Leja would receive<br />
"many, many, many emails"<br />
following the publication of<br />
the article. But two weeks<br />
later after her initial email,<br />
she heard back from Leja.<br />
"She had asked for more<br />
information, and I was so<br />
excited to share my story<br />
with her and give her more<br />
information," Roberts said.<br />
"So, it was very exciting to<br />
even get one response from<br />
her. So, to get multiple was<br />
amazing."<br />
The two women quickly<br />
developed a friendship,<br />
and Leja said it didn't take<br />
her long to realize Roberts<br />
was the one destined for<br />
the dress. She decided she<br />
wanted to let Roberts know<br />
she had been selected in a<br />
special way.<br />
"We'd been texting for<br />
a little while, and I went<br />
through our texts and our<br />
emails back and forth, and I<br />
wanted to do like a fun little<br />
poem that was representative<br />
of our conversations,"<br />
she said.<br />
The next time the two<br />
women spoke, Leja read<br />
Roberts the poem she had<br />
written.<br />
"It was just so moving,<br />
and she was so honored,"<br />
Leja said.<br />
Leja and her mother<br />
drove down to Tennessee<br />
the weekend of Sept. 1 to<br />
deliver the dress. She described<br />
meeting Roberts<br />
as "so amazing, and then<br />
some," and while she only<br />
spent two days in Tennessee,<br />
the trip easily felt like<br />
a week, she said.<br />
"When Toni and I had<br />
met up, her whole entire<br />
family was there, and they<br />
just welcomed this with<br />
warm hugs," she said. "And<br />
honestly, it felt like we've<br />
known them for years.<br />
They were so kind, and<br />
they opened their home to<br />
us, and the hospitality they<br />
The size 10 Stella York wedding dress has never been<br />
altered.<br />
gave us was unbelievable."<br />
Best of all, Leja said,<br />
the dress fit Roberts like a<br />
glove.<br />
"It fit her better than it<br />
fit me," she said, laughing.<br />
"And it makes sense ... this<br />
dress was never mine. It was<br />
made for her all along. And<br />
when she put that dress on, I<br />
don't think she's even going<br />
to need alterations. It fit her<br />
so perfectly."<br />
Roberts plans to wear the<br />
donated dress when she and<br />
her fiancé Daniel Johnson<br />
tie the knot in early 2019.<br />
The couple has been together<br />
for about four and a half<br />
years.<br />
"We were originally going<br />
to do a destination wedding<br />
with just the two of us, but<br />
I have an 8-year-old son and<br />
he did not love that idea, so<br />
we've kind of revisited it and<br />
started actually planning a<br />
wedding here locally," Roberts<br />
said.<br />
She said she felt honored<br />
to receive the dress, adding<br />
it was "so special to be chosen<br />
by obviously someone<br />
so special."<br />
"[Leja] is the sweetest<br />
person ever," she said. "I<br />
look forward to talking to<br />
her every chance we get ... I<br />
think that not only did I gain<br />
a wedding dress, I feel like<br />
I've gained a great friendship."<br />
Leja said she plans to continue<br />
assisting Roberts with<br />
the wedding, adding anyone<br />
interested in contributing<br />
Toni Roberts (right), of Lebanon, Tenn., is pictured with<br />
fiancé Daniel Johnson (left) and son Maddux McGill.<br />
Roberts received a wedding dress for her upcoming<br />
wedding from Frankfort native Jessica Leja, an oncology<br />
nurse. Photos submitted<br />
a service — photography<br />
or makeup for instance —<br />
should get in touch with her<br />
at jleja06@gmail.com.<br />
"For her to have options,<br />
or if anyone knows anyone<br />
in the Nashville area and<br />
can reach out, or if anyone<br />
would like to pay it forward<br />
to Toni, something like that,<br />
that would be helpful," she<br />
said. "I'm going to continue<br />
to help her and make this<br />
wedding amazing."<br />
RIGHT: Jessica Leja<br />
traveled to Tennessee<br />
the weekend of Sept. 1 to<br />
deliver the dress and meet<br />
Toni Roberts in person.
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